And so, we reach the end of another calendar year . . . .  And it has been a busy one for the Clayton Center for Entrepreneurial Law at Tennessee Winston Law.  The change in the calendar, like the change in seasons, always seems to be a time of reflection for me.  And that reflection typically leads to a sense of gratitude.  I will share some of what I am thankful for here.

I appreciate so much the wonderful stewardship of Brian Krumm, who directed the Clayton Center for the first seven months of 2025.  We are a student-focused institution, and Brian exemplifies that in all that he does for our business law program.  And as the ongoing coach of our students in four upcoming transactional law competitions (The Closer at Baylor Law, the Wayne State University Law & Taft Stettinius & Hollister Transactional Law Competition, Syracuse Law’s Transatlantic Negotiation Competition, and the William & Mary Colonial Cup), Brian will continue to earn my respect and gratitude as the academic year continues, for that work and so much more.

I am grateful for our newest business law colleague, Andrew Appleby.  In a semester of professional and personal transitions, he has weathered the storm well and is already a student favorite who is contributing curricular ideas and offering fresh viewpoints.  Our tax law program is something we always have been proud of, and Andrew brings broad and deep experience in tax and other areas of business law, adding strength to the Clayton Center’s multifaceted, interdisciplinary approach to training students for a wide range of business law careers in the public and private sectors. Andrew and Michelle Kwon, together with our emeritus colleagues Amy Hess and Don Leatherman, offer us many ways to ensure that students have a strong, practical foundation in tax law when they leave us with their law degrees in hand.

And, having just finished grading an amazing set of memoranda and draft instrument and agreement provisions crafted by my Corporate Finance students, I also want to proclaim publicly my gratitude for them.  Each project was unique; each student expended their knowledge and capacity as they worked on their research, planning, and drafting over the course of the semester.  Based on their final work product, I would hire so many of them!  And the growth that I saw . . . .  Well, it is inspiring.

And inspiration is a good thing.  The new semester here starts next week.  And so there soon will be more to come, more to be grateful for. The Clayton Center–and business law education with it–has come a long way in over a quarter of a century of working with law students (as have our logos, as the three mugs in the photo help illustrate!). I have been thinking a lot about that as I continue to process Tina Stark’s passing.

With all of the foregoing in mind, I send all of you new year greetings. 2026, here we come!  For those of you who, like me, are gearing up for our annual national law teacher’s conference and the new semester at the same time, I wish you well in accomplishing all that in short order.  I hope to see and visit with some of you in New Orleans.  Beignets and chicory coffee at Café du Monde are on the menu for me, as are a Mother’s oyster po’ boy and a Central Grocery and Deli muffuletta.